High School Summer Abroad Blog
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Innovating projects and final fun!
WOW! How can the program be coming to an end? Participants have been soaking up as much as they can during this last week. Each day during class time, participants spent time with their group preparing their final projects and presentations. Wednesday we went into Santa Elena for shopping and enjoying an amazing snack at the local cafe, Monteverde Cafe! They are known for their amazing pastries and banana bread! We also shopped at a Coop that is made up of women around the community selling their handmade items from embroidery and sewn items to jewelry, handmade paper and journals. Thursday we had students from the local high school visit and join us in our Bio-blast. We all downloaded an app called iNaturalist and documented flora, fauna, insects, and animals with pictures to add to their database. Per their website, the organization is now a non-profit that is dedicated to building community, with a focus on preserving biodiversity. The iNaturalist app is used by many to make conservation decision in their own communities. We enjoyed spending time with the students and practicing our Spanish too! Friday was presentation day for the participants projects. The creativity, technology use, research, and engineering time spent on each project was well thought out and presented with expertise. The groups and presentations are as follows: Ellie, Brave, Hazel, Hartson, & Baila - Native plant identification with QR codes, Google Site, and link to USDA for access to your own state's native plants. SaMyra, Zoey, Ellie, and Tory - Brochure on conservation for native bees in Costa Rica, along with how you can help pollinators in your own community.
Reflections and Wrap-Ups: Lessons Learned from the Last Three Weeks
As the students wrap up their final days on campus, they’ve spent extensive time this week working on final projects, enjoying cultural activities and community service events, and hanging out... keep reading
SO MUCH LEARNING - Cultural, Women in Stem, and giving back to San Luis
Participants have been working furiously on presentations regarding "Important Women in Stem." Groups presented on Madam Curie, Jane Goodall, Ellen Ochoa, Katherine Johnson, and Katherine Hayhoe. Amazing research and presentations... keep reading
Costa Rican Traditions: Cooking Lessons & Folkloric Dance Classes
Some of our favorite activities throughout our time on campus are the cultural experiences we get to partake in with our Center Staff and local friends. Two of these activities... keep reading
Tapirs and Tubing: Weekend Adventures in Bijagua, Costa Rica
As Week 2 comes to an end and we begin the final week of Session II’s Climate Change Mitigation program here in Monteverde, the students prepared for their overnight excursion... keep reading
Waterfalls, Ziplining, and REST.....Oh, My!
What a weekend we had! On Saturday morning we had our breakfast and then boarded the buses to head to El Tigre Waterfalls. El Tigre Waterfalls are know for hiking... keep reading
Sprouting Inspiration: Volunteering at Huerta Comunitaria in Monteverde, Costa Rica
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the community members of Monteverde, Costa Rica had a problem: they needed access to fresh, local food for a low price. Nearby, in... keep reading
In Their Own Words
Earlier today, this PL took to the muddy trails of the CIEE Monteverde Campus to interview the Women in STEM students. We're on a mission to understand, in their own words, events of the past few days.
Getting Our Hands Dirty
The week so far has been all about learning. We started Monday morning by going to Monteverde Natural Cosmetics, a family run business that makes natural beauty products whose ingredients... keep reading
Environmental Education: Experiencing the Bosque Eterno de los Niños
The Bosque Eterno de los Niños, or “BEN” for short, is a Costa Rican nonprofit conservation organization protecting 23,000 hectares of rainforest. Also known as the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, their... keep reading
Festivities, Frogs, and Friendship
This past weekend was out first big adventure outside the CIEE campus and we certainly had a lot to celebrate! The girls started the weekend off on Friday afternoon learning... keep reading
Soaring through the Sky and Swimming through the Falls
After spending time in class and around town throughout the week, the Climate Change Mitigation students eagerly awaited the weekend activities: hiking the El Tigre Waterfalls and Ziplining through the... keep reading
Sampling the Sweet Successes of a Family Run Farm and Giving Back to the Community
Torrential downpours during lightning storms with high winds are the norm for the Monteverde community. CIEE has done a spectacular job creating safe spaces to wait out the storm, and... keep reading
For Whom The Bellbird Tolls
We are definitely not letting the grass grow under our feet in the Women In STEM program. We started yesterday morning bright and early milking cows. The students have the... keep reading
Adapting to a New Schedule and a New Culture in Monteverde
Many of the young people, and I like to include myself in that, have reported of the new experiences directly with and around their slumber. I let them know just... keep reading